Categories: Astronomy

James Elliot, Discoverer of Uranus Ring System, Dies

James Elliot, 1943–2011

[/caption]

Astronomer James Elliot, a professor at MIT, has passed away at the age of 67. Elliot was part of a team of astronomers from Cornell University that discovered the rings around the planet Uranus in 1977. Elliot specialized in the techniques of planetary astronomy, particularly stellar occultations, to probe planetary atmospheres and the physical properties of small bodies in the outer solar system and beyond. Of particular interest to him was Pluto, Triton, Kuiper Belt objects and extrasolar planets. Steve Tilford from Steve’s Astro Corner knew Elliot personally and has written a very nice retrospective on Elliot’s life.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/